Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Begg and thank him for taking the time to come in here. I will not get into any controversy because I am not a pensions expert and I know very little about trade unions. I will try to keep my questions as practical as possible.

Reading Mr. Begg’s curriculum vitae, there is nobody more competent than him to chair the authority. I come from a very ordinary background and know nothing about pensions and I got a fright listening to his statement that there is a formidable challenge to pensions in the future. He said 91% of people have a State pension and only 40% plus also have a private pension. Will his role involve encouraging young people to take out a pension when they start work? If only 40% of people in the private sector have pensions maybe their employers are not encouraging them to take out pensions to sustain as they get older. I have two girls who are beginning their working life and they have taken out pensions in their workplace. I was encouraged when they said they had done that.

Could Mr. Begg broaden his comment about the formidable challenges? I meet many women who stayed at home to rear their children and I am always taken aback by the fact this country has not been fair to them. They only get a non-contributory pension. What are Mr. Begg’s views on that? I know that is a different area but we need to acknowledge that in the past women stayed at home to rear their large families, for example, my sisters who are in their 70s. They do not benefit in the way that someone who went out and got a job does. It is not right that older women, who gave their lives to rearing their children well in order that they never caused trouble in society and knew how to function as normal human beings, are not acknowledged. I would welcome any comments Mr. Begg might have on that.

I thank Mr. Begg for deciding to take up this very important role, even though he has been appointed to it.